70: Chapter 70: The Black Scale Python

The deeper they ventured, the darker the forest became.

The ancient trees grew thicker, their trunks so wide it would take seven or eight people to wrap their arms around them; the moss on the bark was as thick as a green velvet carpet, and spirit fungi at the tree roots resembled colorful lanterns casually placed by the gods of the wilderness.

The interlacing tree crowns formed an almost airtight canopy, completely blocking out the sun; only the soft pink glow of Zhao Linger's Spirit Sound Technique and the golden shimmer of Wang Sheng's Power of Holy Light served as two spiritual lamps in the gloom.

The ground was covered in thick layers of decaying leaves; each step produced a moist crunching sound, as if stepping on the oldest skin of the Savage Beast Forest.

Beneath the decaying leaves lay soft spirit soil, where dark purple markings could occasionally be seen.

The Shadow Beast Path became denser here; these were no longer the faint lines that Liu Ruyan needed her Phantom Assassin vision to detect, but a web interwoven into the spirit soil like blood vessels.

The air was filled with a sickly sweet scent—not the sweetness of flowers or spirit herbs, but the distinct, cloying aroma of a Savage Beast, a mixture of blood and spiritual energy; that sweetness felt like the oldest warning of the wilderness.

This place did not belong to the human race; it belonged to a more powerful existence.

Zhao Linger's pace slowed involuntarily; the Spirit Sound Master's perception became sharper in this area, but also more uneasy, as if a spirit lark had silenced its song before a storm.

"Wang Sheng,"

She moved a step closer to Wang Sheng involuntarily; that single step moved her from the middle of the team to less than half a meter behind him, and her left hand unconsciously gripped the edge of his battle armor.

Her slender fingers clung to the golden armor like five white spirit vines.

"I hear it—a very low, very low humming," she whispered, her voice trembling like a petal in the cold wind, "It's like…"

Her brows furrowed tightly, and a flicker of unprecedented fear flashed through her large, round eyes.

"It's like something is breathing beneath the ground."

The Deer Spirit Archer's ears twitched frantically; the beast-kin's ears, like antennae gifted by the gods of the wilderness, trembled violently at this moment as if receiving the strongest signal, and her golden eyes suddenly constricted, resembling two golden lanterns blown out by a gale.

"Linger is right," the Deer Spirit Archer said, her voice trembling; when a Deer Spirit Archer senses a Savage Beast far exceeding her own tier, beast instinct forces an involuntary reaction of fear, "Beneath the ground, there is a massive living entity, sleeping."

Her antlers glowed faintly in the gloom, like two white spirit staves lit by fear.

"The heartbeat is very slow, once every thirty seconds, but each time, it's like thunder."

Zhao Linger's fingers tightened on the edge of Wang Sheng's battle armor; her Spirit Sound Master perception extended beneath the ground like an invisible, massive silver web, and she "heard" it—that heartbeat.

It was dull and heavy, resembling the pulse of the Savage Beast Forest itself; each beat caused the spirit soil to tremble slightly, made the dust in the air dance in the windless forest, and caused her Spirit Sound Technique perception web to tremble violently, as if struck by a heavy hammer.

She subconsciously took another step toward Wang Sheng, her petite body nearly pressing against his back; she could feel the warmth of his Holy Light spiritual energy—the golden warmth was like the sun, and in the shadow of that massive existence, she was a sunflower, instinctively turning toward the sun.

Just then, Liu Ruyan dropped silently from the canopy of an ancient tree.

Her figure was like a dark leaf blown down by the wind—no sound, no presence; but her expression was rarely grave, like an undercurrent surging beneath ice.

"Five hundred meters ahead, there is a larger-scale Shadow Beast Path," her voice was like a cold wind cutting through the dark night, "The density of the markings is more than three times that of the outer area; Shadow Power has almost covered the entire ground."

She took a small piece of dark purple crystal from her bosom.

The crystal was the size of a fingernail; its surface was rough but emitted a dim luster like the Shadow itself; in Liu Ruyan's palm, it resembled a fragment cursed by the gods of the wilderness.

"This is the residue of condensed Shadow Power," Liu Ruyan's voice dropped lower, "Fresh; not more than a day old."

The Shadow Clan had been active in this area not long before them.

Liu Ruyan looked up, her misty, smoky eyes reflecting the dim light of the dark purple crystal.

"The markings of the Shadow Beast Path converge into a node five hundred meters ahead, like the center of an array; the Shadow Clan has set up something there."

Wang Sheng's mind raced; the Shadow Clan was driving Savage Beasts, the Shadow Beast Path markings converged ahead, and that convergence point… "The territory of the Ink-scaled Python," he said in a low voice.

The Deer Spirit Archer's ears twitched, "The underground breathing Linger mentioned is in that direction as well."

Wang Sheng's assessment formed in an instant; the Shadow Clan was driving Savage Beasts, and the most powerful Savage Beast in the outer Savage Beast Forest, the Warrior Tier 5 Ink-scaled Python, was highly likely one of the targets being driven by the Shadow Clan.

The Shadow Beast Path converged into a node ahead; that node was the Shadow array the Shadow Clan used to erode the Ink-scaled Python; if the Ink-scaled Python had already been eroded by Shadow Power, its combat strength might be greater than in its normal state; Savage Beasts stimulated by Shadow Power experienced a massive boost in aggression and combat instinct; if a Warrior Tier 5 Ink-scaled Python were stimulated by Shadow Power to approach Warrior Tier 6, it would be the most powerful enemy Guangming Village had faced since its founding.

"Everyone, be on guard," Wang Sheng's Power of Holy Light surged within him; golden light spread from his fists to his wrists, appearing like a golden dragon winding along his arm armor, "Prepare to face a Warrior Tier 5."

Zhao Linger released the edge of his battle armor, but her hand did not leave completely; instead, it slid to the side of his fingers, her slender fingertips gently touching the back of his hand like the softest musical note played by a Spirit Sound Master.

It was a silent signal: I am here.

Wang Sheng did not turn back, but his left hand opened slightly, as if responding to that note.

The corners of Zhao Linger's mouth curved, like a crescent moon reflected on water.

Then she took a deep breath; the Spirit Sound Master's spiritual energy surged within her again, and a pink glow flowed at her fingertips; she was no longer a frightened little girl; she was a Spirit Sound Master, the crowd-control core of the Guangming Village expedition team.

The precursors arrived faster than Wang Sheng had anticipated.

The ground began to tremble slightly; it was not an earthquake, but the movement of some massive creature on the ground; each step was like the gods of the wilderness beating the drum of the earth; trees swayed, and the leaves of ancient trees rustled like strings plucked by the gods of the wilderness.

Withered leaves fell like startled spirit birds; in the distance, a tributary of a spirit stream at the roots of an ancient tree rippled in the tremors, the ripples spreading outward in circles like the oldest countdown of the Savage Beast Forest.

Zhao Linger's Spirit Sound Technique perception web was like a spiderweb struck by a giant wave in the tremors; she "heard" it—the entity breathing underground had awakened.

It was no longer a slow heartbeat once every thirty seconds, but ten seconds, five seconds, three seconds.

The heartbeat accelerated, as if the oldest war drum of the Savage Beast Forest was being beaten faster and faster; each beat caused her Spirit Sound Technique perception web to tremble violently, like a drumhead struck by a heavy hammer.

The Deer Spirit Archer's ears twitched frantically, and the pupils in her golden eyes constricted to the size of pinpricks.

"It's here,"

Before she could finish speaking, a massive black figure slowly emerged from the depths of the dense forest.

The Ink-scaled Python; it was over twenty meters long, resembling a river woven from the night itself by the gods of the wilderness; its entire body was covered in pitch-black scales like black jade, each scale the size of a palm, emitting a dim dark purple luster in the gloomy forest.

It was as if each scale sealed a wisp of Shadow Power; the edges of the scales had serrated, sharp angles, like thousands of black blades draped over its body.

Its head was like a small hill, flat and broad; the scales on its head resembled a black crown, and two dark golden vertical pupils were like two ghost fires in the shadows; there was no wildness or chaos of a normal Savage Beast in those vertical pupils, but a fierce light carrying an eerie intelligence, eroded by Shadow Power.

Most terrifying of all, dark purple markings were wandering within its vertical pupils, just like Shadow blood vessels pulsating in the eyeballs; the dark purple markings, appearing like living things, meandered like snakes within the dark golden vertical pupils; that was not the gaze of a normal Savage Beast; it was a fierce light eroded by Shadow Power, as if the oldest curse of the Savage Beast Forest had awakened in its pupils.

A Warrior Tier 5 Ink-scaled Python, stimulated by Shadow Power, might have combat strength approaching Warrior Tier 6.

It flicked its forked black tongue; the tongue trembled in the air like two black whips tempered by Shadow; a sickly sweet aura surged like a tide, carrying the stench of a Savage Beast, the intensity of spiritual energy, and the chill of Shadow Power; the three scents mixed together, resembling the oldest aura of death in the Savage Beast Forest.

Zhao Linger's small face turned pale, and her fingers trembled slightly; the Spirit Sound Master's perception was like a spirit lark in a storm before this Savage Beast—fragile and tiny.

It was the instinctive fear brought by the tier gap; the pressure of a Warrior Tier 5 was like an invisible mountain pressing down on her spiritual energy, making her almost unable to breathe, but she did not retreat.

The Spirit Sound Master's lips trembled slightly, and a string of soothing low-frequency notes flowed from her mouth, like the last song a spirit lark sang before a storm arrived; the notes were not for herself, but for her teammates; she was keeping herself calm, using her own way to fight fear.

Wang Sheng took a step forward; the Power of Holy Light surged from his entire body; the golden light in the gloomy forest appeared like a sun, illuminating a ten-meter radius and dispelling the chill of Shadow Power.

Zhao Linger felt the mountain pressing on her spiritual energy loosen slightly under the radiance of the Power of Holy Light, as if a gap had been torn in the dark clouds by the sun.

"Everyone, follow my command," his voice was like a golden bell toll, piercing through the Savage Beast's pressure, piercing through the chill of the Shadow, and piercing through everyone's fear.

Murong Xue's Holy Light spear Spirit Rune suddenly lit up, the silver light exploding in the darkness like a star; Xiao Yuqing's bowstring was pulled taut, the emerald green arrows like six streaks of emerald lightning; Liu Ruyan's figure disappeared into the shadows; the Phantom Assassin seemed to have been swallowed by the darkness itself; the Deer Spirit Archer's spirit bow was raised, the golden arrowhead aiming at the Ink-scaled Python's left eye.

Zhao Linger closed her eyes, the spiritual energy of her Spirit Sound Technique surging within her like a pink river; she was searching, searching for the weak point in the Ink-scaled Python's spiritual energy barrier; then, the Ink-scaled Python moved.

In its dark golden vertical pupils, the dark purple markings intensified abruptly, wriggling madly like Shadow blood vessels in the eyeballs like snakes; the Savage Beast eroded by Shadow Power seemed to have an instinctive hostility toward the Power of Holy Light, as if Shadow were naturally the enemy of light.

Its massive mouth opened, and a cloud of dark purple poisonous mist surged from the depths of its throat.

The poisonous mist was like the oldest plague of the Savage Beast Forest; the dark purple, cursed mist spread in the forest like a tide; wherever the poisonous mist passed, moss withered, spirit fungi turned to ash, and bark was corroded as if soaked in strong acid.

It was Shadow poisonous mist, a dual corrosion mixed with Savage Beast venom and Shadow Power; Savage Beast venom corroded flesh, and Shadow Power corroded spiritual energy; this dual corrosion could not even be fully blocked by the Holy Light shield, because Holy Light could only purify Shadow Power and could not neutralize the physical corrosion of the Savage Beast venom.

"Scatter!" Wang Sheng roared; the Holy Light Warrior's golden spiritual energy condensed into a translucent golden light shield in front of him, but his command was issued to everyone.

Murong Xue rolled to the left, Xiao Yuqing and the Elf Archer leaped toward the high canopy, the Deer Spirit Archer nimbly dodged behind an ancient tree, and Liu Ruyan had long since disappeared into the shadows; but Zhao Linger stood where she was.

The Spirit Sound Master's petite body stood in front of the Ink-scaled Python's massive mouth like a spirit lark facing a storm about to swallow the world; her lips did not close; the spiritual energy of her Spirit Sound Technique surged within her like a pink river; she was weaving a sonic barrier, attempting to block the poisonous mist for her teammates.

"Linger! Retreat!" Wang Sheng's voice was like golden thunder; Zhao Linger looked back at him, her large, round eyes showing no fear, no hesitation, only a seriousness he had never seen before.

That seriousness was like the most precise note of a Spirit Sound Master, without a trace of noise, like the purest determination in the Savage Beast Forest; "As long as I can block it, three seconds is enough."